Famous Cricketers No 38 - D.V.P.Wright

salt into his wounds, because of the speed at which he bowled, any chances that were not accepted by the slip fielders invariably raced away to the boundary for four runs. At least Doug was well supported through the majority of his career by the wicket-keeping skills of Les Ames and Godfrey Evans who together achieved a total of 142 catches and 54 stumpings from his bowling. However, less gifted ‘keepers did not fare so well as they struggled to read Doug’s bowling action or cope with his faster ball which was delivered at a pace slightly above medium. One such victim was Tony Catt who kept wicket for Kent on a turning pitch at Northampton in 1955 and was barely able to lay a glove on the ball as a County record of 48 byes - the majority fromDoug’s bowling - were conceded in the first innings. Few would have criticised Doug for not working hard enough at his game. Long after he had finished with Test Match cricket, he would be found working on his own in the nets at Canterbury after the other players had gone home, trying to develop a new delivery or endeavouring to overcome any problem he might have been experiencing with his run-up. Doug was noted as a perfectionist, having a clear plan of attack with each delivery and no-one was more disappointed than him when he was not bowling well for he felt he was not only letting himself down but his team-mates too. Conversely, when things were going well and he was among the wickets, Doug would visibly rise in stature and confidence though he did so totally without arrogance for which he was greatly admired by team-mates and opponents alike. Being so heavily focused on his bowling, Doug seldom gave much attention to his batting or fielding. When he came to the County as a colt, he had genuine promise of being an all-rounder of some merit. A number of centuries had already been achieved in minor cricket and a further hundred for the Club and Ground in 1935 showed signs that this ability might be successfully transferred to a larger stage. However, though Doug played many useful innings in Test and County cricket (which included sixteen half-centuries), he had to be content with a rather modest record. In the field, Doug was generally placed at mid-wicket or on the boundary where he was able to relax between overs and prepare his strategies for his next over. He possessed a safe pair of hands though, and against Lancashire at Canterbury in 1938, held six catches in the match. Whatever view one accepts, it must be acknowledged that it takes a bowler of some standing to finish a career with in excess of two thousand wickets to his name, particularly when six of his potentially best seasons were lost to military service. Doug’s victims included many of the finest batsmen ever to have played the game - Bradman, Headley, Compton, Hutton, Sutcliffe and Hammond; whilst he was the only bowler to have claimed the wickets of the fearsome West Indian trio of Weekes, Worrell and Walcott in a single Test Match innings. To this day, Doug holds the world record for having claimed seven hat-tricks in first-class cricket - a record that is unlikely ever to be broken. Yet, despite all his many achievements in the game around the world, Doug remained the same quiet and unassuming character he had been when he joined the staff in 1931. Ian Phipps Canterbury, 1997 6